President Biden has already begun making important changes, even though he has just been inaugurated. Many of the bills that he is removing and putting into place are laws that former President Trump and his administration put into place. For instance, President Biden has made a substantial improvement on former President Trump’s COVID-19 policies. 

     Many plans and decisions were made from day one of President Biden’s presidency. One of the plans President Biden produced was a response to COVID-19, such as rejoining the World Health Organization. President Biden also improved immigration laws, in which he sent a bill to Congress to modernize the United States’ immigration system. This could give nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants a chance at citizenship. On the improvement of climate change, he signed an executive order to formulate a plan to achieve 100% clean energy and net-zero emissions by 2050, which would greatly improve the Earth’s health. He also put in an executive order to conserve 30% of America’s waters and lands by 2030. President Biden also improved transgender rights, repealing the transphobic transgender military ban that was enacted by the former President Trump. Along with this, President Biden also restored former President Obama’s guidance for transgender students in schools. This will protect transgender students access to sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms according to their gender identity. These days one improvement is greatly impactful steps to making America and the world a safer place for individuals to live in. 

     One of the protections President Biden set into place during the COVID-19 pandemic is the protection of workers, which directs OSHA to enforce COVID-19 safety guidelines. 

     Highlands government teacher Michael Hils discusses what plans are most important to him, stating, “He [President Biden] is also trying to fix the failed rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. The goal is 100 million shots over the next few months.” 

     The workplace environment, especially frontline workers, has been a huge concern for workers who are working in unsafe conditions. President Biden is also including a mask mandate on federal property and inter-state travel, helping to keep individuals who are in close quarters, such as airplanes, safe during this crisis. Another executive order President Biden is planning to complete is to change the minimum wage to a standard $15. The federal hourly minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009, which organized labor groups have been trying to change for almost a decade. This change will help many families and individuals who are in crisis, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also plans to extend nationwide restrictions on home evictions and foreclosures, along with continuing to pause student loan payments, for a buffer for the individuals who cannot work at this time. He also wants to push for the passage of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief legislative package announced last week. 

     Hils states another one of President Biden’s most important plans, in his opinion. “President Biden’s immediate plans included providing immediate relief by sending out another round of stimulus checks to the millions of Americans who are struggling right now.” 

     President Biden is also planning to put a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan which will emphasize on giving loans to small businesses that have been hit the hardest from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

     Highlands science teacher Matthew Ewald comments on President Biden’s prevention and treatment plan for COVID-19, “I think widespread vaccination is the best course of action for citizens of the USA, and I think it is the best part of President Biden’s plan. There is a lot of misinformation and misconceptions about the COVID vaccine and vaccines in general, so it is important that we continue to educate and inform the public about the benefits of getting the vaccine. As a science teacher, I strive to educate my students about life on Earth every day in class, so I see an incredible benefit in working to educate the public-at-large about vaccination and about the importance of becoming informed about how the vaccine works in our bodies. Everyone can ultimately make their own decision about whether or not to receive the vaccine, but they should have all of the information (and correct information) before making an informed decision.”

     President Biden is planning to reverse many actions put into place by former President Trump, such as to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, which is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. Their goal is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, or 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit, although they preferably hope for 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 34.7 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to pre-manufacturing levels. He also hopes to end the Muslim travel ban which was signed by former President Trump in 2017. This racist and xenophobic ban restricted travel and immigration to the United States from many countries, such as Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, along with the addition of Eritrea, Nigeria,  Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, and Tanzania put into place in 2020. 

     President Biden is relying on Congress to help him make many of these steps towards a better America, which could prove to be difficult in many cases, even with the slight majority that is held by Democrats in Congress. President Biden is planning on putting the “Build Back Better” economic recovery plan in February 2021, in a session of Congress. This plan is calling for spending trillions of dollars on American-made products, health services, and infrastructure improvements. He also plans to organize a “climate world summit”, which will push world leaders to tackle climate change more aggressively. This will address global shipping and air travel emissions, this is one of the priorities that President Biden is planning to put into action that will not require congressional approval. President Biden is also planning to “pressure” China to stop subsidizing coal and outsourcing pollution. President Biden also plans to repeal tax cuts, this would require action by Congress. President Biden has argued that the 2017 tax cuts favored wealthy Americans, over less fortunate individuals. He also plans on discussing the “loopholes” in the gun background check system, in which he would ask Congress to close these “loopholes”, also repealing liability protection for gun manufacturers. This protection would allow Americans to sue the gun industry if a gun is used in a crime. President Biden also stated that he wants to “restructure” the federal agencies, which oversee gun laws. When President Biden was a senator, he authored the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, which offered more protections for women. He is planning for this act to be signed into law again, this law would include a slight update which would provide much needed and greater protections for transgender women. Another plan of President Biden’s is to pass the “Equality Act,” which would add more protections for LGBT+ Americans. 

     These plans in President Biden’s first 100 days of a presidency are important to add a safer America, during the COVID-19 pandemic and after it as well. These laws are just a start to the America that President Biden wants to improve and help everyone live in.